UAE emphasises support for Gaza on International Day of Charity

The Emirates has delivered crucial humanitarian assistance in solidarity with Palestinian people caught up in conflict

Emirates Red Crescent teams are providing key support on the ground in Gaza. Photo: Wam

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The UAE marked International Day of Charity on Thursday by underlining its commitment to providing critical support to embattled civilians in Gaza.

The Emirates has sent tens of thousands of tonnes of humanitarian aid – including crucial medical and food supplies – since the start of the Israel-Gaza war on October 7, state news agency Wam reported.

The UAE said its continuing operations in the besieged enclave aimed to deliver “round-the-clock relief and medical aid through volunteer teams to support the Palestinian people”.

The relief efforts include 104 convoys carrying 20,000 tonnes of aid, in addition to four ships loaded with a further 18,530 tonnes of goods.

Another 5,340 tonnes of aid have been sent to Gazans by way of 259 airlifts, with more aid parachuted into Gaza through 104 air drops.

Two hospitals have also been established as part of the UAE's programme to help those in need in Gaza, including one with a centre to provide prosthetic limbs to Palestinians wounded during the war.

The field hospital in the southern Gaza Strip has 200 beds and more than 100 doctors, nurses, pharmacists and lab technicians. It has treated thousands of patients since its launch in December.

A 100-bed floating hospital, docked off the coast of the city of Al Arish since February, had already treated about 2,400 Palestinians by July.

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  Doctors from Gaza on the UAE floating field hospital docked off the coast of Al Arish, in Egypt. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National

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  The UAE's floating field hospital is a 100-bed repurposed vessel

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  A doctor from Gaza on the UAE floating field hospital

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  Doctors have treated hundreds of patients from Gaza on the UAE floating field hospital

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  Dr Hamd Al Ahmad with a young patient

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  The floating hospital was established to ease the strain placed by the continuing war on Gaza's overwhelmed health centres

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  A doctor on the UAE floating field hospital

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  Doctors and patients from Gaza on the UAE floating field hospital

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  Patient Adnan Shaheen on the UAE floating field hospital

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  Doctors and patients from Gaza on the UAE floating field hospital

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  Patients from Gaza on the UAE floating field hospital

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  A young Palestinian in an ambulance on the floating field hospital

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  A doctor from Gaza on the UAE floating field hospital

The UAE has welcomed 709 patients from Gaza, along with 787 of their family members, to receive medical treatment and accommodation to date.

This follows a directive by President Sheikh Mohamed to provide care for 2,000 injured Gazans, as well as those suffering from cancer.

The death toll in the war-torn enclave has risen to 40,878, Gaza's Health Ministry said on Thursday afternoon.

Last week, Sheikh Mohamed directed $5 million for the delivery of a polio vaccination drive in Gaza.

The vaccines will be delivered in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, Unicef and UNRWA, and will provide 640,000 Gazan children under the age of 10 with two doses, state news agency Wam reported.

Philanthropic vision

The UAE's support for Gaza forms part of a broader strategy to assist those in need around the world.

The Emirates has provided more than Dh360 billion in foreign aid since its formation in 1971 until the middle of this year, official figures show.

Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed, deputy chairman of the Presidential Court for Development and Fallen Heroes' Affairs and chairman, said the UAE's spirit of philanthropy was forged by UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

He said the country, guided by the President, remains a global leader in charitable giving, responding to humanitarian crises across the globe.

He said the country, through its donor agencies, authorities and institutions, continues to fulfil its humanitarian goals.

He highlighted the endeavours not only of the UAE leadership, but of its community in sharing its benevolent outlook.

The International Day of Charity was established by the UN on 2012. It is observed on September 5 each year to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa.

The renowned charity champion, who died aged 87 in 1997, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 “for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace”.